NBA All-Star Participants to Donate Life-Saving Anti-Malaria Nets

Contact:

Serena Jiwani

sjiwani@unfoundation.org

Jenni Lee

jlee@unfoundation.org

Nothing But Nets announced today five NBA All-Star players, represented by the Wasserman Media Group, will donate funds to the grassroots campaign to fight malaria in Africa. The pledge will be matched dollar for dollar by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

NBA All-Star Joe Johnson will lead a list of 2007 participants who will donate funds to the Nothing but Nets campaign during a number of events in Las Vegas, as part of the NBA Cares’ partnership with Nothing But Nets. Johnson will contribute $1,000 per basket made in Sunday’s All-Star Game. In addition to Johnson, Mike Miller and Jason Kapono will donate $100 for every shot made in the Foot Locker 3-Point Shootout, along with Jordan Farmar and Brandon Roy who will be shooting for the charity as well during the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam.

“How great is this,” asked Kathy Calvin of United Nations Foundation, the organization that created Nothing But Nets. “Doing what they do best, these players are putting the money where the nets need to be. They are making a tremendous contribution to this program, and the lives of children throughout Africa.”

Joe Johnson’s contribution will be matched by Arn Tellem, President of WMG Management, a leading sports agency.

“We’re proud to be part of this effort and support the good works of our players,” said Tellem. “We believe in this campaign and its efforts to provide bed nets throughout Africa. It’s rare that it is really this easy to save a life.”

The Nothing But Nets team including Sports Illustrated’s Rick Reilly, NBA legend Sam Perkins, and WNBA star Ruth Riley will appear at the Nothing But Nets tent at the NBA All-Star Jam Session, the world’s largest interactive basketball theme park, in Las Vegas. While there, Nothing But Nets will share photos and stories from the recent trip to Africa where Ruth Riley and Sam Perkins visited with community health workers and families impacted by malaria.

Perkins and Riley joined United Methodist Bishop Thomas Bickerton in traveling to Nigeria and Angola for two weeks in January. On this trip, they saw first-hand the effects of malaria and how the campaign is contributing to malaria prevention. Perkins and the Nothing But Nets team also participated in a local press conference hosted by the State Ministry of Health in Nigeria to help spread the word to families to bring their young children to the upcoming health campaigns to receive insecticide-treated nets. Video from the trip, along with excerpts from the team’s travel diaries, will also be available at www.nothingbutnets.net following the All-Star Game.

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About Nothing But Nets
Nothing But Nets is a global, grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. Inspired by Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly, thousands of people have joined the campaign that was created by the United Nations Foundation. Founding campaign partners include the National Basketball Association’s NBA Cares, The People of the United Methodist Church, and Sports Illustrated. Other partners include VH-1, The Mark J. Gordon Foundation, AOL Black Voices, and Rotarians’ Action Group on Malaria. It only costs $10 to provide an insecticide-treated bed net that can prevent this deadly disease. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matches donations dollar for dollar. Visit www.NothingButNets.net to send a net and save a life.

Bed net distributions are organized and implemented by the Measles Initiative, a partnership of the American Red Cross, the United Nations Foundation, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and UNICEF.